Los Altos Stage Company transforms “Twelfth Night” into a musical that opened last week and runs through June 22 at the Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave.
The original “Twelfth Night,” a romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare, follows the shipwrecked Viola who disguises herself as a boy and is employed at the Duke Orsino’s court. The musical adaptation, created by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, came out in 2018.
According to Sara Dean, director of the LASC production, the script retains Shakespeare’s original words but adds Kwei-Armah and Taub’s modern, jazz-like flair music to create a “really unique” show that combines the old with the new.
“The music is, to me, the best thing about this show; it’s so much fun,” said lead Kristy Aquino, who plays Viola.
While the plot remains the same as Shakespeare’s original, Dean said the musical version helps bring out themes of gender identity, gender norms and empathy.
“The thing that I really like about this production, in this version, is the calling forth of questioning genders and gender identity,” Dean said. “I think that something that is inherent in the original text is when Viola puts on the robes of Cesario and becomes a male, how does her place in the world change, and how is she interacted with differently? And so she has a whole song that kind of examines that piece of her journey.”
LASC began rehearsals for the show April 13 with a dedicated, 15-member cast, according to Dean. But even before the cast gathered together, Dean met with a set designer in January to achieve the 1960s London setting she reimagined as the setting of “Twelfth Night.”
“Everybody that is in the show, (none of them are) doing this as their full time job. Like this is just out of joy and passion. It’s a way that we build community together. It’s a way for our creative expression to come through,” she said.
The cast rehearsed five days a week leading up to the show to bring the production to life, learning the music, script, choreography and staging.
“I feel like there’s a higher level of comfortability now that we’ve been with each other for like four weeks. So, I feel like people feel more comfortable making bigger choices or doing riskier things,” Aquino added.
Although it is a romantic comedy, Dean hopes the audience of “Twelfth Night” will be impacted by the deeper themes in the show.
“The messaging in the final song, which is called ‘Eyes of Another,’ I find really impactful. What it comes to is the real messaging of the whole show, which is being able to look through the eyes of another. It’s opening doors of empathy and compassion and consideration, I think, which is always a message that we need to hear,” Dean said.
Performances of “Twelfth Night” are set for 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through June 22. Tickets are $13-$41.
For tickets and more information, visit losaltosstage.org/twelfth-night.
